Spike and Buffy in season 3"¦otherwise known as "
Lover's Walk"
I did a re-watch to write this and this really is a great episode. It's a brilliant mix of humour and tragedy.
"
What kind of moron would ever want to come back here?"
Love that line from Cordelia! Cut to a big old car crashing into the Sunnydale sign"¦hang on, we've seen this scene before haven't we? We can guess what kind of moron is coming back to Sunnydale. But this time there is no attitude-laden, confident exit from the vehicle; this time he literally rolls drunk out of the Desoto, slurs his "˜
home sweet home' and looks all kinds of pathetic.
Spike is drunk and dejected. He and Dru have broken up "“ this is the aftermath of the scene in
Fool for Love with the Chaos Demon in Brazil. And everything he does confirms how pathetic he is "“ he's crying, he says he's nothing without her and he blames Angel for turning her head.
This is always how I have interpreted the timeline:
"¢ Becoming part 2 "“ Buffy and Spike's "˜truce'
"¢ Spike flees with Dru
"¢ Buffy flees to LA
"¢ Spike and Dru end up in South America
"¢ Buffy returns home
"¢ During their time in South America Dru cheats on Spike with various species including a Chaos Demon. Dru blames Spike saying that he is "˜covered in the slayer' and that he "˜tastes like ashes'. They break up
"¢ Spike returns to Sunnydale, a shadow of the vampire he used to be.
"¢ The events of Lover's Walk
"¢ Spike returns to South America (?) to find Dru but is unsuccessful in this endeavour "“ he does find out about the ring of Amara in his travels, returns to Sunnydale to find it, meets Harmony, is still bitter about Dru . . .
At this stage Buffy and Angel are insisting that they a "˜just friends' "“ blind Freddy can see that they are deluding themselves. Buffy wants Angel to give her a reason to stay in Sunnydale but he won't - it really highlights the on-off-stay-go indecision of Bangel that goes on all season finally culminating in Angel's departure from town.
I think its fun that they made it known that Mayor Wilkins was aware of Spike and his shenanigans of season two. He describes Spike as a "˜Loose Cannon' which, really, is a perfect description.
Spike and Willow's scene is fantastic "“ he is a great mix of psychopathic and pathetic "“ the result is pretty freaky. No wonder Willow is crying "“ she does fear really well.
Spike and Joyce scenes are always a joy "“ I like the symbolism of Spike being inside while Angel is trapped outside "“ this motif is repeated in Pangs with great effect.
And then we come to what I believe makes this episode so special "“ it is the one time we ever get the Spike-Buffy-Angel combination in action (though who knows what comic #36 will bring). And for me, I find it interesting that Buffy and Spike (SMG and JM actually) totally dominate the scene. You barely notice Angel's existence "“ And I think this is one of the reasons that I find Spuffy so compelling is that the actors had such a great professional rapport and chemistry "“ it was palpable and believable. When Spike is lamenting over the time he and Dru killed the homeless man, Buffy's dry "I guess you had to be there" is spot on perfect. The whole scene actually is superb. No wonder they bought him back for the rest of the series run.
This brings us to the most famous dialogue from the episode:
Buffy: That I'll have to agree with. You're pathetic, you know that?
You're not even a loser anymore, you're a shell of a loser.
Spike: Yeah. You're one to talk.
Buffy: Meaning?
Spike: The last time I looked in on you two, you were fighting to the death. Now you're back making googly-eyes at each other like nothing happened. Makes me want to heave.
Buffy: I don't know what you're talking about.
Spike: Oh, yeah. You're just friends.
Angel: That's right.
Spike: You're *not* friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, its blood... blood screaming inside you to work its will ... *I* may be love's bitch, but at least *I'm* man enough to admit it.
I love that he doesn't deny that he is a pathetic loser "“ I love that he owns his issues "“ I love how he calls Buffy and Angel on being equally as pathetic and he does it with poetic eloquence to boot. And of course he gives us one of the most enduring, iconic even, descriptions of Spike's character "“ "love's bitch".
And I have to mention Buffy's break-up scene with Angel:
Buffy: We're not friends. We never were. And I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself. Or Spike, for some reason. What I want from you I cannever have. You don't need me to take care of you anymore. So I'm gonna go.
Don't we Spuffies just love the "
or Spike for some reason". Well I know I do. He *gets* her "“ he always did, even before there was a Spuffy to speak of.
